Principal: "Vote As You Like, I'll Decide Who Wins"

In the world of progressivism, Diversity trumps Democracy---when possible.

This week Principal Lena Van Haren of Everett Middle School (SF) gave kids an illustrated lesson in how voting actually works in a socialized, politically correct environment.

The kids elected their leaders, but the principal withheld the votes because the kids didn't vote for the proper leaders.

She told the press, "It's not okay for a school that is really, really diverse to have the student representatives majority white."

She says, "I intentionally did not choose the easy way because this is so important."

Both students and parents are angered. They also see its importance---the importance of the individual vote.


Principal Lena Van Haren of Everett Middle School in San Francisco told the San Francisco Chronicle when she saw which kids on campus had been elected to the student council, she was disturbed at the lack of diversity among the winners.

"There were no Latino or Black candidates chosen for the top four spots," she explains.

Van Haren decided to withhold the results of the election for more than a week, not because there were any indications of fraud or vote tampering, etc, but because she said, "The school community had to figure out how to have a more representative government."

Finally, last Thursday, she sent an email to parents saying, "This is complex, but as a parent and a principal, I truly believe it behooves us to be thoughtful about our next steps here so that we can have a diverse student council that is truly representative of all voices at Everett."

But they do. Every kid in the school gets to vote, regardless of their ethnicity.

And they voted for whom they wanted in student leadership.

It is only complex for those who seek to re-engineer society. For those who believe in democracy and a right to vote for whom they choose, it's rather simple.

Parents and students did not see the complexity of the matter either.

The Chronicle reports, "The response was immediate and at times vehement. Parents complained; students were angry. It appeared that some parents argued that diversity was trumping democracy."

Everett Middle School has 469 students. California Department of Education shows that 56% of the students are Hispanic, 18% are white, 9% are African-American, 5% are Asian and 12% are "other."

The principal's problem is that the diverse student body elected mostly white and Asian leaders.

Apparently this principal thinks people should vote for representatives based on the color of their skin, not the content of their character.

Martin Luther King, Jr. identified that as a problem. Perhaps it's time public education did so as well.

When this issue blew up and became a national news story this week, Haren said, "This is middle school. It's not a presidential election."

"It was not about hurting democracy or putting diversity over democracy," she said.

Actually it is about putting diversity over democracy. While this may not be a presidential election, what these kids learn about the sacred right of voting in middle school, will shape how they view voting when they "are" voting in a presidential election.

And Principal Haren knows that. That is why she, in her own words, was willing to take a risk and seize the "teachable moment."

And this does hurt democracy. No one knows better than Haren that kids are very impressionable and most often learn more from experience, than from textbooks.

She was teaching them, by her actions, that diversity does, indeed, trump democracy.

Haren says, "I could never have predicted things would get to this point."

Public education has, in many cases, come to take for granted the trust parents once placed in their hands. They have, too often, exploited that trust.

This is a clear picture of how indoctrination progresses in the classroom.

I understand an educator's "surprise" when they are called out by parents.

Things are changing.

Parents are more informed, more vigilant, less trusting and more prepared to challenge our failing public education complex.

Principal Heran told the Chronicle, "I think it still can be a teachable moment."

It has been Ms. Heran, it has been.

Be Informed. Be Vigilant. Be Pro-Active. Be Strong.